Australia
Australia risks shortage of economists, warns RBA’s Dwyer
Students are tending to choose business studies over economics, says the RBA’s head of information; central bank is trying to reverse the trend
Australia’s neutral rate of interest is around 3.5% – RBA minutes
RBA minutes show hawkish slant compared with policy statement released earlier this month; central bank estimates neutral rate has fallen 150 basis points
Book notes: Can We Avoid Another Financial Crisis?, by Steve Keen
Steve Keen challenges “mainstream” economic thinking in this concise book, hoping to shift the political debate on debt
RBA minutes point to dangers from debt
Growth in household debt exceeds growth in incomes, creating risks to consumption; board members say situation warrants “careful monitoring”
Wage growth remains a concern for Australia – Lowe
Governor warns low wage growth is hindering household consumption; there are some signs the labour market is recovering, with employment growth registering stronger in recent months
Authors struggle to cut ‘price puzzle’ from Australian data
Authors find various approaches to removing the puzzle from VAR models fail for Australian data, calling into question the usefulness of the models
Macro-pru can offer ‘breathing space’ for Australian housing
Apra’s actions “will not address pressures”, but will provide “breathing space” as they should lessen the amplification of house prices, says RBA’s Lowe
Price disparity in housing market a cause for concern, says RBA’s Lowe
Australian house prices rising ‘briskly’ in some sectors, says governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia
Volatile housing market puts RBA under pressure
Variations in housing growth and prices ramp up risk to financial stability, RBA minutes show; regulator to consider further measures “if needed”
RBA opens new ‘highly secure’ banknote vault
Australian central bank makes first investment in banknote storage and distribution in over a decade; Lowe says public have come to “rely” on “secure and high-quality” banknotes
New forex code will not be a set of rules – Debelle
New code of conduct will force participants to think about their actions, Debelle says; rules are easier to “arbitrage” than principles
RBA’s Ellis examines the central banking community’s gender problem
RBA makes changes to processing candidate applications to remove unconscious bias, Ellis says; central bank recognises women face challenges when entering economics
RBA’s Bullock says central banks are ready to ‘take action’
Old school of thought regarding asset bubbles abandoned following financial crisis; macro-prudential tools are helping policymakers “clean up”
External review of the RBA to begin next month – Lowe
Governor tells MPs the central bank wants to identify opportunities for improvement; assessment will look into operation and administration, not policy framework
RBA’s Ellis: cross-country and micro-factors matter for housing
The assistant governor sees country-specific and micro-factors as important to understanding the diversity of outcomes in the housing market
RBA to ‘pay close attention’ to housing market in 2017 – Lowe
Rent growth remains weak but vacancy rates are not high, RBA governor says; households and banks are currently taking the right approach to the environment
Forex code working group liaising with regulators – Debelle
Many regulators are interested in understanding how the code could be used to monitor market activity, working group chairman says; both FCA and Asic are in talks
Tallow controversy forces Innovia to look at alternatives
Innovia to seek alternative to tallow as traces of animal extracts in the Bank of England's new ‘fiver’ sparks global review; Canadian and Australian banknotes also contain traces in guardian substrate
RBA paper asks why companies fail
Researchers find specific features of Australian companies make them more likely to fail
People: RBA names two new assistant governors; Barbadian deputy governor retires
Luci Ellis and Lindsay Boulton appointed assistant governors at the Reserve Bank of Australia amid reshuffle; Harold Codrington departs Barbadian central bank after 37 years of service; and more
Australasia has avoided stagnation trend – RBNZ’s Bascand
Different household behaviour in Australia and New Zealand appears to have contributed to higher growth and investment
Lowe stresses the importance of financial buffers
“Skimping” on buffers is not worth the risk, says RBA governor, stressing stronger ones promote stability and prosperity
Global forex code is ‘on track’, says Debelle
Work on the code has been a “constructive and co-operative effort” by central banks and market participants, says RBA deputy; “on track” for launch in May 2017
Central clearing boosts welfare but margin matters – RBA paper
Study shows how central counterparties boost welfare by insuring against counterparty credit risk, but gains are sensitive to the level of margin